fellowship 686

This weekend we attended Fellowship 686.  It is a Nashville based community of families who have adopted (or adopting or thinking about adopting) children from Africa.  It was INCREDIBLE to see all of these children from Africa grafted into families from Nashville.  It made our adoption feel so real.  Most of the families have adopted from Ethiopia, but we met some who are adopting from Uganda and another couple just ahead of us in the Rwanda process!  We are so thankful to be able to be part of a group like this as we prepare to bring our son home.

Fellowship 686 comes from God's promise in Psalm 68:6 - To set the solitary in families....

reconciliation

We caught the documentary on PBS a couple of weeks ago called As We Forgive: Stories of Reconciliation from Rwanda.  It is an excellent film and has given us insight into the healing and struggles going on in Rwanda today.

about rwanda

Here is a good map of Africa showing Rwanda.  Also, here is what America World says about Rwanda.

Rwanda is a verdant and beautiful country, often referred to as "the Land of a Thousand Hills" and "the Switzerland of Africa."  Rwanda is about the size of Vermont, but hosts a population of about 10 million; its population density is the highest of any country in Africa and currently has one of the world's highest birth rates.  Unfortunately, UNICEF estimates that there are nearly one million orphans and vulnerable children:  children are primarily orphaned due to poverty.

Originally, Rwanda was colonized by Germany in the 1880's and fell to Belgian rule after World War I.  The primary educational force in the country was the Roman Catholic Church throughout the Belgian rule, which came to a peaceful, but rather abrupt end when independence was declared in 1962.  Landlocked and bordered by Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the majority of its inhabitants are subsistence farmers.  

As with all African nations, Rwanda has diversity in languages and cultures, yet unlike its neighbors it is primarily home to only two ethnic groups (Tutsi and Hutu).  The national language of Rwanda is Kinyarwanda.  

Rwanda is well known to many Americans because of the tragic events that unfolded there in the spring of 1994.  Rwandans today struggle to recover not just from that singular event, but from a legacy of 60 years of intermittent war.

Life expectancy in years: 45

Annual per capita GNI U.S. dollars: $250.00

Total number of orphans: 820,000

Education:
Children completing primary school: Male – 43%; Female – 49% 
Children enrolled in secondary school: Male – 15%; Female – 13%

Number of physicians per 100,000 people: 5

Post #1

It's true...Sten and Caitland have joined the century and have started a blog. Our main motive in doing this is to celebrate our family as we grow and go through life.  Our latest adventure started a couple of months ago when we applied to adopt a Rwandan 0-9 month old boy through America World Adoption.  Everyone we know says it's a roller coaster, and to be prepared for the unexpected. So, that's what we're doing. We've already found in our discussions that some are not so sure about the idea of adoption, but there are so many of you, our friends and family, that support this endeavor and we are so grateful for that. We know that our lives will get turned upside down but we believe whole-heartedly that the Lord is calling us to adopt a child. 
So, on this very first blog, we're eagerly looking forward to the day (6-11 months from now) where we will post the video of us getting our little boy in Rwanda on "Gotcha Day", as they call it.  More on Rwanda, the sharps, and the process to come!